The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) today announces the appointment of trumpeter Michael Rodriguez to its faculty. Rodriguez, a Grammy-nominated musician renowned for his artistry as a composer and instrumentalist, joins the cadre of high-profile faculty members in the Roots, Jazz, and American Music (RJAM) program, which welcomed its first class, composed of some of the world's finest young jazz musicians, in the fall of 2017.

“Michael Rodriguez is one of those rare trumpet players who has mastered his craft to the level where he is sought after by bandleaders and artists from Charlie Haden to Chick Corea,” says RJAM Executive Director Simon Rowe. “He has a unique voice as a jazz soloist and bandleader and will provide a perfect role model for the aspiring jazz young artists at SFCM.”

“I am thrilled to join the outstanding faculty at SFCM,” says Rodriguez. “I look forward to being a part of the students’ artistic development and learning from them as well.”

Michael Rodriguez has performed and toured with Clark Terry, Bobby Watson, Quincy Jones, Joe Lovano, Toshiko Akiyoshi Orchestra, pop icon Jessica Simpson, the Chico O’Farrill Orchestra, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Jon Faddis and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Carla Bley Band and Quintet, the Clayton Brothers, Kenny Baron’s Quintet, Conrad Herwig’s Latin Side Projects, Harry Connick Jr., Bob Mintzer, Eddie Palmieri Septet, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and the Smithsonian Jazz Orchestra, among others. He is also a member of Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra.

In December 2003, Rodriguez recorded on Charlie Haden’s Grammy Award-winning album, Land of the Sun, featuring Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Joe Lovano. He has also recorded on the Liberation Music Orchestra’s latest album, Not in Our Name. In 2008, Rodriguez became a member of the Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quintet and recorded Avatar under the Blue Note Label. He and his brother, pianist Robert Rodriguez, have recorded four albums together: Introducing the Rodriguez Brothers, Conversations, Mood Swing, and their most recent album, Impromptu, which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album 2015. In March 2013, Rodriguez released his debut solo recording under the CrissCross label entitled Reverence.

Rodriguez studied at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida, at the University of Miami, and at New School University in New York where he received his B.A. He frequently travels the globe as a clinician.